Toronto might be the city of neighbourhoods, but in October that all changes as the city makes way for

the walking dead, ghouls, witches, monsters and a startling cast of very scary characters.

If you’re aching for some macabre fun this Halloween, you’re sure to find it just around the corner this

year as Toronto salutes its dark side. Here’s a look:

In its ninth year, this Toronto fan favourite, kicks off at 3 p.m. from Nathan Phillips Square on October

26. The Toronto Zombie Walk, which saw 6,000 undead stagger and lurch their way along city streets

last year, includes a parade, a zombie photo booth and a stall that lets you slather on blood to better

your look. Best of all, the event is free and open to everyone.

If you’re the type who enjoys the classics, you’ll love this live, interactive production of the zombie

cult flick Night of the Living Dead. Playing now till October 27 at Theatre Passe Muraille is Night of the

Living Dead Live, a live-action horror romp that pits audience members against hoards of – you got it —

zombies.

Halloween with a healthy twist is offered up thanks to the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation

Hospital Foundation, which hosts Monster Dash Toronto, a night run in which participants get to don

costumes and raise funds for a good cause. The event, which is for all ages, takes place on October 27.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox is showing a scary line-up of classic horror films on October 31. Do you remember

the spine-tingling terror you experienced watching Dead Ringers or The Exorcist? You can recapture that

sensation all over again. Other films on tap Halloween night include The Changeling, Ginger Snaps and

Hunted and Hungry.

Speaking of films, how about the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, which runs at the Scotiabank Theatre

from October 17 to 25. Celluloid thrill-seekers can get their adrenaline rush thanks to this line-up of

international horror, sci-fi, fantasy and shorts.

Perhaps you enjoy a melody with your terror? If so, you’ll love Evil Dead: The Musical, a live

performance comedy-musical thriller that follows a group of college kids trapped in a demon-filled

cabin. Performances run from October 24 to December 22 at the Randolph Theater (formerly Bathurst

Street Theatre).

If audience participation is your thing, give The Rocky Horror Show a go. This live performance play,

which is based on the 1975 movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show, encourages the audience to dress

up and yell insults and quips as the performers act and sing. It’s at the Lower Ossington Theatre until

November 10.

Here’s wishing you a fiendishly ghoulish Halloween.

That Randi Kwinta enjoys the personal touch shines through in practically everything she does.

As a real estate salesperson for Freeman for the past seven years, Randi delights in getting to know her clients whether they’re medical researchers, opera tenors or millwrights. If you’re fortunate enough to work with her, you’ll find yourself sharing information about your profession, your children and your hobbies and pastimes before you know it. It’s not that Randi is prying; it’s more that she has a natural curiosity about new people and experiences. That’s what gets her wheels spinning.

That people are a big part of the real estate business happens to be a good thing for Randi, who concentrates mostly on residential real estate in the Annex and downtown Toronto. Still, she has clients throughout the city and also enjoys selling condos and dabbling in rentals as well.

The mother of three “fabulous and incredible” children aged 18 to 22 likes to stay busy. Working in the housing industry allows her that in addition to a wide variety of assignments and tasks. That she can find herself one day sitting at a desk going through statistics, then heading out to her car for a meeting with potential clients then off to an open house to check out a property is the kind of variety she embraces.

“I just eat up the diversity I get from this profession,” says Randi. “There’s nothing like it.”

Ironically, Randi first hooked up with the Freemans while studying psychology at the University of Toronto in the 1980s. There, thanks to study groups and university events, she met Elden Freeman, who was studying environmental science. Twenty-five years would pass before their paths crossed again when after many years as a marketer for a corporate interior design firm, Randi decided it was time for a career change.

Once she settled on real estate, she had to think about the type of business she wanted to embody. Freeman Real Estate Ltd. with its smaller, more intimate boutique vibe, was perfect. The fact that Randi is low-maintenance, unpretentious to a fault and a hard worker who enjoys giving clients the best service she can made the fit even more appropriate.

“I knew I wanted to take care of my clients and do the very best for them,” she says. “I like it that the Freemans work really hard and that they do anything and everything for their clients.”

Randi can be reached at randi@freemanrealty.com.